When Jewish people begin their year with the Passover feast it serves to remind them of the tears they shed during the 430 years of captivity in Egypt. They take a little salt water and dip herbs in it, drinking the fairly repulsive brew as a sharp memorial to a troubled period in their race's history. Yet, their tears were a big part of their eventual freedom. When God called Moses to become their deliverer, he said that he had been moved by their crying due to their sufferings as slaves, and wanted to set them free. Tears became a down-payment on liberty. Tiny drops of salty water secreted from their facial glands actually changed their lives. History was transformed by a few hot droplets squeezed from suffering faces by oppression and desperation.
Since passing through the trauma of decades enduring some of the worst pain known to humanity, and long periods of hospitalisation, I have rediscovered my tear ducts. I say this reluctantly because men are not supposed to cry. When I sat down to write this blog I searched the internet for images of male tears and found very few indeed. Children and women aplenty - but not many blokes! And I know why. These little droplets are seen as a sign of weakness or defeat. So, how come God pays them so much attention then?
The Bible says that God collects all our tears in his bottle (Psalm 56:8 in some versions) which means that he records our distress. The mighty King David wasn't ashamed to soak his pillow with his tears at night, (Psalm 6:6), both Isaiah and Jeremiah wept freely due to the sinful conditions of their day, and the great apostle Paul often preached through his tears (Acts 20:31). But the greatest justification for men to weep when they need to do so is the shortest verse in the Bible - 'Jesus wept' (Jn 11:35). If the Son of God made use of his tear ducts then why are ours still sealed in their newly minted 'men don't cry' wrappers?
Since passing through those tough years of pain I find myself deeply moved by other people's suffering. My tears flow when I read certain biographies, or see hard scenes from Ukraine or Somalia. Sometimes my breath is caught by reminders of some of the horrors I experienced in ICU, and tears come unbidden, especially at night. I often wake to a soaked pillow. This is all part of dealing with post traumatic shock etc, but there is no need to fear or to suppress such tears. God made our tear ducts to enable us to wash out our emotions and distress and alert others at times to our vulnerability. This is not weakness but part of our created humanity - a gift from a weeping God.
So, if you are holding back tears, perhaps even now, please know that there is one who cares. He wept at the tomb of his friend Lazarus, and then went on to raise him up. What matters is not that your face is wet, but that your heart is open. When we weep our physical vision is blurred but our spiritual perception can actually be heightened. So, why should we be ashamed of our tears?
